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RATINGS: A = must own B = buy it C= average
D = yawn F = puke |
Rating: A+
Rush has done it again! The
band, throughout their career, has been fan friendly
concerning live albums and putting collections
together. This time around they
have released three box sets that feature, in
chronological order, the bands entire fifteen album
recording career for Mercury Records.
Each Sector set contains five albums, four studio
and one live. All albums have
been transferred to high resolution 96kHz/24-bit
audio and have been digitally remastered.
In addition, each volume includes an
exclusive booklet packed with unpublished photos,
original album lyrics and credits, and features one
album from each set specially remixed on DVD in high
resolution 96kHz/24-bit, 5.1 surround sound and
stereo, compatible with both DVD-Audio players and
DVD-Video players. Each album is packaged in a
replica vinyl mini-jacket of the original album
release with all three box sets forming a
Rush
CD road case.
Rush is a band that has always grown and matured,
musically. They have sliced
their career into eras and the three sectors here
represent the band from their earliest days through
their commercial peak to their change from a
progressive hard rock band to a more adventurous and
artistic band.
Sector
1
features the hardest rocking music the band ever
made as it contains the albums Rush, Fly by
Night, Caress of Steel and 2112.
These iconic albums include the songs
“Working Man,” “Finding My Way,” “Fly by Night,”
“Bastille Day” and the epic “2112.”
The set is completed with the iconic live
album All the Worlds a Stage.
Sector 2
sees the band moving into their most commercially
successful period. The albums
here include the amazing A Farewell to
Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Picture
and the classic live effort Exit Stage
Left. The set includes the
powerhouse tunes “Closer to the Heart,” “Spirit of
the Radio,” “The Trees,” “Freewill,” “Tom Sawyer,”
“Red Barchetta,” “YYZ” and “Limelight” among others.
Sector
3
picks up as the band were enjoying the massive
success of Moving Pictures but also
sees the band changing sounds and losing more of
their hard rock presence in favor of more complex
rhythms and songwriting. The
albums
included in 3 are Signals, Grace Under
Pressure, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire and the
live album A Show of Hands.
Classic tunes on this set include “New
World Man,” “Subdivisions,” “Distant Early Warning,”
“The Big Money” and “Time Stands Still.”
The bottom line here is that the band has released a
very nice commemorative set of their first fifteen
albums just in time for Christmas.
Rush fans across the globe have this one on
their Santa list, and for good reason.
Rush are an amazing band and these three
sectors represent their most important eras.
The work put into the box sets is impressive
and any Rush fan will rejoice upon seeing any one,
or all three of these box sets under the Christmas
tree.
By Jeb Wright
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